Do You Know Me?
by Chibikitsune90
Summary: It all started out with a little English project until it turned into a project of their own SasuNaruSasu some KakaIru. lemon later. Rated R MM Yaoi,
1. Chapter one

**Revised**

Do You Really Know Me?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and Sasuke is not tied up in my basement. :shifty eyes:

Seriously, I do not own Naruto or its characters… sadly.

Summary: It all started with an English project; then it became a project of their own.

SasuNaruSasu M/M

(A/N) Please be easy on me. This is my first fan fiction, and I hope to stick with it. XP So, um, on with it! 

_/blah/ - _thoughts  
_Blah _- Naruto narrating or a journal entry /p  
"blah" – talking /p

Chapter 1:

"Hey! You little shit, wake up! You're going to be late for school! I don't need another fucking phone call saying you're late, you damn idiot." A blond-haired boy sat up and yawned. His blue eyes were glazed over from sleep and twitched irritably. The loud ruckus from downstairs woke him from a pleasant dream of eating arguably the best food ever, RAMEN! Moments earlier the tasty substance had surrounded him, and he had gorged mounds of it. He could not think of a better heaven than that!

Finally, the screams from the woman downstairs reached the boy's sleepy mind. "Shit! I'm late," he groaned as he saw the clock. It was 7:50, ten minutes to get to school. The bus had come and gone entailing a solid 20-minute walk. "Why the hell didn't she wake me up earlier?" he grumbled, "I guess I'll have to run." He groaned again at the thought.

_So you're probably wondering who I am, since we haven't been properly introduced in our first awkward meeting. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but you can just call me Naruto. I'm 15 and in my second year of high school. I have sunshine blond hair, sky blue eyes and am slightly below the average height. My skin is evenly tanned but not overdone. Even though I may be considered good looking I'm an outcast at school, but that doesn't bother me, I guess. I mean, what can I do about it? Anyway, enough with that, I am just a loud-mouthed boy who doesn't think before he talks. Everyone tells me I am overly friendly, and that makes me just annoying. I'm actually pretty smart, but I have no common sense, so that kinda overrides my intellect, but oh well._

"You piece of shit! If I have to tell you to get your lazy ass out of bed again, I'm going to drag you there by your hair!" the woman from downstairs screamed again. "And if I have to, I'll call your father!"

_I know what you're thinking; who is that crazy woman screaming downstairs? Well, she's my mother. She means well most of the time… I think. But she's your mother, you're probably thinking. Yea, that's my mother. I'm used to the yelling and fighting, and she's certainly better than my father is. In any case, it's best to stay out of their hair. Anyway, I had better set out before she actually backs her words with actions. Believe me. She will._

Naruto ran all the way to school. Panting, he slammed open the door to his first class just as the late bell rang. "Yes! I made it on time. Score!" The boy mentally patted himself on the back for not grabbing something to eat before the run.

"Naruto, sit down. You made it on time, but it doesn't give you the right to boast about doing what should have been done anyway," the first period teacher scolded. First period was English taught by Iruka Umino, who was not as mean as he made himself seem. In fact, he was usually calm, just and over-protective of his students.

Before Naruto could respond, a cool voice broke in, "That's impossible, Mr. Umino. It would be the end of the world if he didn't act like a dobe, so you should stop wasting your time telling him otherwise." This remark came from a raven-haired teen who sat in the middle of the classroom. The other classmates were not surprised by the remark, some even agreed. Everyone knew Naruto and this boy were always at each other's necks. Their fights often resulted in bruises and cuts here and there.

"TEME! I'm not a dobe!" Naruto screamed at the raven-haired boy.

_You're probably wondering who the hell I'm yelling at. His name is Uchiha Sasuke, Kohona's genius, but I prefer to call him bastard, Sasuke bastard or Ice Princess (this one really gets on his nerves). Sasuke and I don't get along if you haven't noticed; we are actually rivals always bickering or fist fighting over who is better and often try to best the other for no odd reason. Well, back to class! _

Sasuke's cold stoicism warmed into that smug smirk that really pissed Naruto off. "Dobe," was the response Naruto received for his outburst.

Naruto huffed as he walked over to his designated seat next to the window. His mood lightened as he sat. He just loved the window seat. It gave him a sense of freedom… well, almost since he could not really be outside during class. Rather than listen to Mr. Umino carry on about stuff he did not want to hear, Naruto would gaze out the window, and his mind would drift into other worlds, mostly those consisting of that heavenly ambrosia, ramen.

"Naruto, what do you think?" Naruto fell back to reality when he heard his name, but his best answer was an intelligent, "Huh?" Mr. Umino sighed then coolly replied, "Naruto, you are making me repeat myself when it is wholly uncalled for; hence you should consider paying attention for once. I asked, 'How did you interpret the overall meaning of Robert Frost's _The Road Not Taken_? If you did your homework, your response would have most likely been more intelligent than, 'Huh?' So, let us hear what you think."

"Um, well, I think the poem is about a road…that wasn't taken," Naruto stammered. He obviously did not do his homework.

"Naruto," the teacher replied sharply, "did you do your homework?"

Naruto racked his brain for an excuse. "No, um, I didn't because… um… there was this…"

"NARUTO! That is enough! I do not want to hear any more excuses from you! I am positively sick of them. You will fail this class if you continue this way!" An evil smirk suddenly crept across his face. Naruto knew this was a bad sign. Mr. Umino stopped dead in his rant and calmly stated, "Well, class, I have come to the decision that we are going to have a project." Everyone gave a disappointed moan. "It will be done in partners and will account for one half of the grade." The students perked up at hearing the word partner, and eyes darted across the room as the students mentally chose who would be partners. Alas, Mr. Umino finished, "I will choose partners." There was an icy glint in his eye for a brief moment accompanied by more moans of disappointment and deathly glares affixed on Naruto. "Everyone, this is not the fault of Naruto. It was my plan to give this project next week, but I would rather do this now. We will finish poetry another time." He handed a piece of paper with the instructions to the students. "I will go over the instructions after I assign partners."

Naruto moaned in agony and thoughts raced through his mind, _/I hate projects! I especially hate projects with partners 'cuz no one wants to partner with me. I'm just a burden. At this point, I don't care who it is, but please, please, please don't let it be Sasuke. Not Sasuke! Anyone but Sasuke/_ But Naruto's luck was usually bad, so of course… "Uchiha Sasuke and… Uzumaki Naruto." _/NO! This can't be happening! It just can't happen! Why me/_

"I object! I can't work with him!" Naruto yelled as he tried to formulate the best argument he could even though he knew it was futile. "If you want us to come out of this project alive, you will switch us."

"Dobe, the only one who would die is you. I won't die at your hands. You're too weak," Sasuke stated. He did not bother to hide his smirk because he knew it REALLY pissed off the blond.

"Why you..." Naruto started before he was cut off by the teacher.

"I'm sorry Naruto but the list will not be changed. Now, I will explain the directions! Exploring the lives of those around you and learning to see the world through another's eyes allows one to reflect on their own lives. You may just learn something new about yourself by learning about your partner (A/N yeah, I know, how original). Become well acquainted with your partner, make a question and answer sheet, write in a journal about your day, write a five-page report on your partner _and _ write a one page report on what you learned about them that you did not know. It is also required that you visit each other's house to see how it is different from your own home. There will be no excuses, and I will know if you have not been to your partner's house. How? Oh, believe you me, I have my connections." The students noticed the slight smirk on his face appear again for a brief moment. "Ahem, now maybe you can understand why you are partnered with whom I chose. From what I noticed, each person knows little about his or her partner. You have not associated with this person, and you may not even like this person. Yet some of you may actually find that you have something in common with your partner. In addition, if you do something creative with your project or add anything approved by me, I will distribute extra credit. This can save some of you from failing this year." When Mr. Umino mentioned people failing, his eyes seemed to glance at Naruto, which he noted.

_/I must have Uchiha, over my house. What the hell am I going to do? I have to think of a plan. He cannot come over/ _"Mr. Umino, I can't have my partner over my house. I'm not allowed to have people over." Naruto wished in his mind that the teacher would accept his excuse. Apparently, his wishes never come true either.

"Uzumaki, What I said is final. Uchiha has to visit your house. There are no ifs, ands or buts, so I will talk to your parents if you like."

Naruto responded a little too quickly, "NO… um, no, that won't be necessary." Then the bell rang; English was over. He zoomed out of the classroom as if it were plagued.

-------------------  
Later that day  
-------------------

The rest of Naruto's morning classes passed without incident. No teachers seemed like they wanted to bother with him today, and he had not gotten a detention yet, much to his surprise. Soon, before Naruto knew it, lunch was in session. Naruto sat at a secluded table with two other people. The one sat with his head on his arms, sleeping and oblivious to the world around him, and the other sat next to Naruto yapping about his day and the stupid project in English.

_Well, I guess those two are my friends. They associate with me, which is more than I can say about the rest of the school. The one with his head down is Shikamaru, a lazy bastard who enjoys watching and discussing the clouds. One year, for Halloween, he even dressed as a cloud. I don't think there's an end to his laziness. He thinks everything is troublesome, and sometimes I just want to hit him for saying EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, is troublesome. Also, he complains about his mom A LOT! From what I saw, she's a very nice lady, a little strict yet nice, but I don't feel like getting into it right now, maybe another time._

_The other one is Kiba, my first friend and the person almost as loud as I am. He's sometimes rude and looks like a dog. Well, his two sharp teeth look like a dog's canines to me. He loves dogs, especially his little puppy Akamaru. There's never a bad time to talk about his little puppy, which I do agree is very adorable but just as annoying. He smells like his dog all the time and is always covered in dog hair. Kiba also enjoys making fun of me. I wonder if that is what it's like to have a brother, but never mind that, let's get back to the lunch session._

"I can't believe I got paired with Shino! He's such a creepy guy, and he doesn't talk to anyone. I think he is hiding something because of the way he always wears those glasses… Maybe his eyes are screwed up!" Kiba carried on like this for a full ten minutes.

Finally, Naruto snapped, "You think you have it bad. I am paired with _Uchiha_." That last word was the bitter curse of a condemned man. "I mean at least you don't have a bastard as a partner. Hey, Shino could be a cool guy albeit creepy. My partner is just a cold hearted, emotionless ice princess. We cannot say a full sentence around the other without one of us brawling._ /I am still pissed about being partnered with him, and he has to come to my house. Rich little ice princess has to come to my dump… GREAT! It's the icing on the cake (can't you tell the sarcasm?)./_ I mean, Kiba, he may be an all right guy 'cuz you don't know him yet, but I do know Sasuke. Worst of all is that I have to bring him to my house. What a treat!"

Just as Kiba was about to say something, Shikamaru stirred from his deep sleep, "Will you two stop complaining? You're giving me a headache," Shikamaru whined not even opening his eyes to talk to them.

"Hey, Shika, who did you get paired with?" the faintest twitch of his eye could be seen as Kiba mentioned his partner.

"Ino," he stated blankly, yet actually, he was annoyed with the fact that he was paired with a troublesome girl. She was one of the many girls that had their heart hopelessly set on the Uchiha bastard, which Naruto could not understand because Sasuke was not interested in any of them. He would not even give them a second glance, so Naruto always assumed no one met his standards. "It's troublesome," Shikamaru finished then continued his light doze.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but Naruto's mind was turbulent with thoughts about the English project and Uchiha. Yet what could he do? Failing the project and the marking period was not an option since his parents would kill him (kill not being too far from the truth), and Uchiha would never allow it for he was too proud of success and grades. The stupid prick was a 'genius' as everyone claimed.

Naruto was about to leave for the bus stop when a hand stopped him. "What do you want?" Naruto snapped at the intruder not even looking to see who it was.

"Dobe, I need to find out when you're available for this project, or did you already forget we're partners?" a smart-ass smirk appeared on his face, and the faint sound of a word that sounded something like 'idiot' came from Sasuke. Oh, Naruto just wanted to wipe that damned smirk from his face with a swift punch…

"I didn't forget, you fucking bastard," was the only thing Naruto said in response not wanting to stress the subject further.

"Well, then you can at least answer my question," was the annoyed answer that came from the older, slightly taller, dark-eyed boy. Sasuke just wanted to plan this and get it over. They had two months to finish, but they had to start by Monday or the teacher would give them no credit for the journal entries and their self-reflections thus far.

"We can go to your house whenever. I am free from 6:30 P.M. until the time you throw me out. I'm also free on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from the time school lets out until you throw me out. On the weekends I am also free, so from when I wake up, which is usually noon, until whenever you kick me out." Naruto prayed that Sasuke did not notice that he omitted going to his house. He just really did not want Sasuke to meet his parents. Truthfully, he did not want anyone to meet them. In addition, Sasuke's family was rich and powerful, and Naruto was Naruto, not rich and only able to afford what he needed.

"Dobe, we have to go to your house too," getting more annoyed, his right eye started to twitch. _/Why couldn't talking to this dobe be easy/ _Sasuke wondered.

"Well, um, we will figure that out when we need to go to my house, okay? Okay." With that, the blond was gone leaving behind a very pissed Sasuke.

"The nerve of that little Uzumaki brat running off like that! I was not done talking to him yet," Sasuke fumed while waiting for his ride home.

-----------------------  
That night  
-----------------------

Naruto was sporting a very bad-looking black eye. "Damn father, I don't even know what I did this time." Naruto squinted and hissed when he placed ice on the wound. "I hate him. No… correction, I hate them." Naruto was lying on his bed in his small room. It definitely needed to be cleaned; clothes and trash littered the floor. "Well, I guess I'll have to clean my room before that Bastard comes over, whenever that will be." He sighed in frustration and chewed on his pen cap. He finally finished his homework about two hours later. Now, a little black book lay open. This little book was the reason why he was still somewhat sane; it gave him an outlet for his emotions. This little book that lay in front of him obtained Uzumaki's deepest, darkest secrets.

_Tuesday, October 1, 2005 11:00 P.M._

_Dear Journal, _

_Today began like crap, got better, then ended up like crap. We got this gay project in English. Although I love Mr. Umino like an older brother, this project is crap. How could I let THE Uchiha into my crummy, shitty house? I am dreading it. I don't even want to learn about the Uchiha, and I don't want him to learn about me. Maybe I should make up a life or something. YEAH! That's what I'll do. Wait, I suck at lying…fuck. Anyway, nothing can be passed by the GREAT Uchiha. No, I am not jealous. Why should I? He only has everything…well, maybe I am. Do you know what pisses me off about him the most? He takes everything for granted. If I had his life, man, would I be… Wait, I'm rambling. Well anyway, school went by all right actually. Work was all right too, just the normal stuff you do at a bookstore, yes, in a bookstore. I love it there. I love to read, surprisingly. Well anyway, let me get back to the topic. I got home, and my parents were home which is unusual. They usually get home at 7:30, but it was only 6:30. I went into the kitchen to make myself something to eat because it would kill them to make me something to eat after I come home from school and work. My dad heard about my 'behavior' this morning and gave me a good beating. I am used to it and everything, but why did he have to hit my face? He never does that unless he is furious. How am I going to explain this to my friends? Well, I better get going. I need a shower and sleep._

_Ja ne for now,_

_Naruto _

_-----------------------_

_TBC_

_-----------------------  
_

_(A/N) So this is my first fan fiction. I'm hoping that it will last, and I'll update. So what do you think? Should I continue? Is it good enough? I suck at grammar also, so there will probably be lots of that. I hope that it is not too bad. Um, review and tell me what you think. Flamers are welcome. Just don't review telling me how much it sucks and all. Please go easy._


	2. Chapter 2

**Revised**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and company… but one day I will. :snickers:

(A/N) Sorry about the chapter coming out so late. I actually wanted to update last Sunday, but I was out all day since it was my birthday. Monday was spent at home being sick, and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were spent doing a crap load of homework. To tell you the truth, I do not have an excuse for Friday. XP Therefore, since you've been waiting a while, let's get on with it.

_/blah/_ - thoughts  
**_/blah/_- **Sasuke's conscience  
_"_blah_"_ – talking

Chapter 2:

For the first time since the beginning of the school year, Naruto was not late for school. He walked into his homeroom class, book bag in hand. His eyes skimmed over the students' faces as they stared at him in surprise. Naruto's eyes lit up, and a slight smile formed on his lips. He must have found what he was looking for. He started to head towards the back window where two brown-haired boys sat. No. Correction, one sat there staring off into space while the other was deep in a dreamless sleep.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed stirring the boys out of their 'activities'. Naruto sat in the desk next to Shikamaru, who just woke up from his morning nap.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Kiba asked in surprise as he stared at Naruto, perplexed. "And what the hell happened to your eye? You get in a fight or something?"

Naruto sounded offended, "What, do you not want me here? I'll go if you like." Then a teasing grin formed on his face. "Oh, this?" he pointed to his eye, and his grin wavered a bit, "It's nothing. I just was not watching where I was going again and got hurt." He did not want to press the subject, but he knew they did not believe him. He was a horrible liar, he admitted to himself, but he was stubborn as a ram, so he knew they would not try to get it out of him. Naruto was right because Shikamaru was staring at him with a look that said 'you're a horrible liar'

"Oh, ok." Kiba stated knowing that Naruto was lying. _/I wonder what he's hiding/ _both Kiba and Shikamaru thought. "So Naruto, why _are_ you here so early?" It was the best way Kiba thought to avoid the previous discussion.

"I woke up early and had nothing better to do." _/Am I not allowed to be early for once in my fucking life/_ Naruto was trying hard not to let all the anger explode. He did not have a good night or a good night's sleep at that. His parents were arguing again, over stupid things too, and his eye hurt like a bitch, which kept him up until four. This morning was not really any better for him. He woke up early and grumpy, only having about two and a half hours of sleep. There was no milk for his cereal, and he almost missed the bus. "Guys, let's just not talk about it. So, um, what's up?" For a couple of minutes, they continued talking until Sasuke entered the homeroom walking over to his desk, which happened to be near Naruto.

Sasuke turned to look at the blond a couple minutes later when he heard him laugh. He had not noticed Naruto when he entered the classroom, but he was not really looking for him either because he was never in time for homeroom. "What are you doing here, Uzumaki?" Naruto's head looked up towards the boy, eyes shining brightly. Right behind that brightness of blue, sadness crept and true feelings leaked out for all to see. Sasuke was stunned, not because he had for the first time seen a flicker of sadness run through the hyperactive blond, but because his eye was swollen and bruised. "What the hell happened to you?" The rest of the class had turned around at Sasuke's outburst expecting another fight. "What, did you get into a fight with a six year old and lose?" Naruto was _not _in the mood to fight. His right eye twitched, but Naruto ignored it as best as he could. When Naruto did not answer, Sasuke said, "Hn, I must be right then. I always knew you were weak." The smirk on his face grew.

Naruto stood and slowly walked over to Sasuke until he was face to face with the boy. "Shut up," he growled through gritted teeth, eyes slanted dangerously. Most would listen to the threat, but this was Sasuke. It only provoked him.

"What's the matter, Naruto? Scared that the little boy might come back for you?" With that statement said, the anger pent up in Naruto from the previous day burst forth. Naruto would usually just fight back verbally, so it surprised everyone when there was a loud **'thunk'** and Naruto's fist connected with Sasuke's jaw.

"I said shut the fuck up, Uchiha. Get off your high horse and leave me alone." The angered Naruto left the room heading to his first period class. Kiba and Shikamaru ran to catch up with him. That was a surprise because Shika never ran.

A hand slapped Naruto on the shoulder trying to slow the blond. For a moment, Naruto thought it was Sasuke. His fist clenched, and his shoulders stiffened. Naruto was about to turn around and give Sasuke another hit, but then he saw Shikamaru on the other side of him. "What was that all about?" Kiba questioned, but actually seemed pleased with Naruto's decision.

"It's nothing, Kiba. He was just really pissing me off." Naruto was now stomping off to his next class pretending the tiles were his father's face. He could not be mad at Sasuke. Naruto even felt a little sorry that he hit the boy. It was just not a good week, not at all.

Kiba and Shikamaru refrained from asking questions, noticing the blond was in one of _those_ moods. They were not going to force the blond to talk, especially if they wanted to keep their jaws and noses in place. They kept walking quietly, watching Naruto stomp on the tile floor. They winced with each stomp the blond-haired boy made imagining all the thoughts that could possibly be running through his mind. Both Shikamaru and Kiba looked at each other with pained expressions when the blond stomped on a tile extra forcefully. Their quizzical eyes asked each other if they knew what was wrong.

When they finally reached their English class, Naruto flung the door open. Mr. Umino was startled, and his papers went all over the floor. Naruto ignored this, his mind still concentrating on destroying the tiles. He made his way to his desk making as much noise as possible. The few students that arrived before them stared at the fuming blond. Students that were standing in his way moved as quickly as possible not wanting to be pushed aside or stomped on. When Naruto made it to his desk, he flopped down and grabbed his notebook. After a couple minutes, the blond started to cool down, but all too soon a very pissed off Sasuke walked into the room. His eyes skimmed over the crowd of students looking for a specific person.

He wanted an explanation! It was not like the blond to randomly hit him. Naruto always had some type of reason, and it usually was not because of some dumb remark. The blond boy must have something gnawing at his thoughts. Sasuke's thoughts were disrupted when his eyes saw a tuft of bright hair. Naruto was staring out the window. He noticed that the usual spark in the boy's eyes was gone. Actually, everything today seemed lost about the blond, but in reality the truth was that the blond was indeed just that: lost deep inside his thoughts.

Sasuke walked over to Naruto and tapped him on the shoulder. His expression softened to his normal stoic composure. "Naruto," Sasuke whispered. In Sasuke's mind, he questioned himself. _/What am I doing? Why should I care if the blond is okay/_ Sasuke was about to turn around and leave when a thought crossed his mind. _/Oh yeah, I remember now. I have that stupid project with him./ _Sasuke returned to reality and found a pair of bright cerulean eyes staring at him quizzically. "What's with that look?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, Sasuke, I tend to give people confused looks when they are staring at me for about a minute. Then when I ask them a question and they don't answer, I start to get freaked out. So, I'll ask you again, what do you want?"

_/Damn it, how long was I spaced out for/ _Sasuke mentally hit himself. _/He probably thinks I'm a weirdo. Wait, why do I care if he thinks I am weird? I hate him/_ "Are you all right Naruto?" Even though he would regret it later, he sucked up his pride for the moment. He had to make at least a little bit of peace with the boy if he was going to survive this project without bloodshed.

"Why do you care?" Naruto looked at Sasuke. His one eye was squinted a bit because it was a little swollen.

Sasuke was surprised by the answer. He was expecting something along the lines of 'yeah, I'm fine' so it took him a minute to find an answer for the blond. "Well, because if I'm going to work with you on this stupid project, I can't have you moping the whole time, or I'll be forced to hit you." Feeling that his reason was suitable, he crossed his arms and leaned on the desk behind him.

"Oh, it's nothing, Sasuke. I'm just having a bad week." Naruto was a little upset by Sasuke's answer. He thought for a moment that someone actually cared what was bothering him. Even if the boy were his rival, it would be nice. Naruto actually did not notice that he had a few people worried about him, two of those people being Shikamaru and Kiba. Naruto was blind to his actions now. He turned away from Sasuke and began to write in his notebook the notes Mr. Umino was writing on the blackboard.

"Sasuke, sit down in your seat and copy the notes," Mr. Umino stated. A few of Sasuke's fan girls gave him a dirty look for making Sasuke look bad. Yes, Sasuke had fan girls; he even had a few fan boys. Sasuke was one of the most popular kids in Kohona High. Sasuke was stunningly gorgeous, and he was rich. He even had the brains to go with the looks, if that were possible. Once Sasuke sat down in his designated seat, English class began.

The rest of the school day went by rather fast and uneventful. School was not as bad as expected, and Naruto could not wait to go home and snuggle up in his bed. He did not care if he ate dinner. He just wanted to be in the paradise he called his room. All was going well, and Naruto was walking towards the bus stop thinking about the things he could do once he got home. Then a strong hand stopped him on his way towards the bus stop.

"What do you need, Sasuke?" He did not need to turn around and confirm to whom the hand belonged. He knew this because Kiba and Shikamaru left about an hour ago. They both had study hall last period, and they had the choice to leave early since it was their last period. That was not the only reason he knew it was Sasuke. No one else conversed with him, and Sasuke had to work on the project whether Naruto liked it or not.

"You said you were available on Wednesdays. It's Wednesday so you're coming over my house." Sasuke did not give Naruto a chance to respond and began dragging Naruto to a vehicle. "My ride's here; come on." Naruto stood with wide eyes and took in the sight of a very elegant yet sporty black car. Naruto did not know much about cars, but it sure looked expensive. Sasuke impatiently pushed Naruto into the car and stepped in after him.

--------------  
The Uchiha house… um, mansion  
--------------

They reached a rod iron gate that surrounded a MASSIVE house. No, this was too big to be called a house, maybe a mansion… The rod iron gate opened after the driver typed the PIN. The drive up to the mansion gave Naruto a chance to take in his surroundings. He noticed that in front of the mansion there was an attractive little garden. Wait, it was not little; it was enormous. It seemed that nothing was little at the Uchiha residence. What caught Naruto's attention, though, was an enormous oak tree on one side of the mansion. The oak had a swing attached to it, and near the tree was a little swing bench. On the other side of the mansion was a very beautiful willow. It would be even more beautiful if it were spring. Naruto could just imagine how gorgeous it would look when the flowers were in bloom. He was brought back from his thoughts when he realized he was following Sasuke to the front door.

Naruto entered the 'house'. The yard alone was enough to awe him, but his jaw almost fell off when he walked inside. The interior was even more remarkable. The house looked huge from the outside, but in reality, the inside was ENORMOUS. There was a marble stairway with ornate redwood railings. Naruto looked at Sasuke, and a thought crossed his mind, _/God, he must have the life./_ "Sasuke...," Naruto trailed off not noticing his thoughts were being spoken.

"Yes, Naruto?" Sasuke asked politely. Since he was home, he had to have some sort of manners. He was not going to make his family look disrespectful to their guest. It would ruin the family name, even if it were only Dobe. Anyway, his parents would be displeased with Sasuke if they knew how rudely he was to their guest, even though they were not home.

"Um… uh… your house…," he trailed off as he realized he had spoken aloud. He was still looking around trying to absorb his grandiose surroundings. He knew the Uchihas were wealthy, but he did not know it was to _this_ extent.

"What about it?" Sasuke asked. He became slightly impatient with Naruto's trailing dialogue.

"It's um… very nice… um, beautiful actually." His voice again trailed off into a whisper that Sasuke almost did not catch and that Naruto almost pleaded he did not hear. He hoped that he did not sound like a little sissy, but it was true! Sasuke's house was amazingly beautiful.

"Thanks, um, would you like something to drink? You can have anything you want." Sasuke's expression was again blank, but he forced his lips from showing a small smile when he saw Naruto grin.

"I would like a martini, shaken not stirred." Naruto's face was going to split in half if he tried to grin any more. Sasuke gave him an amused look. Naruto then finished, "Nah, seriously I'm fine with a water bottle." With that, Sasuke got the drinks, and they headed up the elegant marble staircase.

They entered a comfortably sized room. It was very normal to Naruto's surprise for he expected some grand room filled with overstuffed pillows, elegant statues and paintings, but it looked like any other teenager's room. The simplicity of it was shocking to Naruto. The walls were a shade of navy blue, and Sasuke's bed had a comforter whose color matched the walls. The actual bed was made of red oak, and Naruto could see some of the sheets from under the comforter. He noted that they were black and silky. Across the left wall was a desk of the same wood as the bed. It had a computer chair, and on top of the desk was an expensive computer. Next to the computer desk was a bookcase overstuffed with a large variety of books ranging from anime to many kinds of novels.

"This wasn't something I expected," Naruto commented. "I expected something far grander." Before Sasuke could comment, Naruto added, "I mean that's not a bad thing… I mean, umm… uh… it's very comforting to be in a room that isn't… so, um… yeah, never mind." Naruto stopped his ramblings and stared at his feet feeling like a complete and total idiot. He was starting to believe that Sasuke was right. Maybe he was a dobe.

"Thanks… um… we should get started on this project though. So how about you tell me about yourself, and I'll ask my unanswered questions, all right? All right." There was no arguing about it.

"All right, well, my name's Naruto Uzumaki, but that one is obvious. I'm fifteen, but I'll be sixteen on October tenth. I live with my mom and dad. All right, you know something about me, so now it's your turn." Naruto grinned and looked at Sasuke. It was evident that Naruto really did not want to be talking about himself.

"Dobe, that's not nearly enough for the project. I can't write five pages with that information. Now answer it seriously. I don't want to fail because of you."

Being the loud and obnoxious boy that Naruto could be, he stated, "Yes, you could. You could make it up. Make my life exactly the way you want, and then we can be done." Naruto's grin got wider, if that were possible, and his eyes slanted comically into upside down crescent moons. "So it's your turn now."

"Dobe," Sasuke growled, "tell me something about yourself, NOW!" Sasuke did not feel like dealing with Naruto for a couple hours if he was going to act like this.

"Fine," Naruto grumbled. He continued thinking of anything that was useless information that would not give away his family life or any problems he had been facing lately. "Well, I'm ¾ Japanese, and I'm ¼ Polish. That's where the blonde hair and blue eyes come from. What else? I would love to visit Japan if I could pick any place in the world. I love ramen noodles; it's the best fucking thing in the world, especially miso, but the rest are good too. Nothing can beat the almighty ramen noodles… oh, and I hate sweets. Is that enough?" Naruto sounded as if he were pleading.

"I have a few questions first, then you can be done. What's your favorite: color, animal, holiday, season and favorite subject in school. After you answer me, I'll answer your questions."

"My favorite color is orange, favorite animal would be the fox, holiday would have to be Halloween, winter and spring are my favorite seasons because I love the snow, but I also love the spring because I like nature… and don't you dare comment on that. My favorite subjects are art and music. Okay, I answered your questions, your turn." Naruto answered the questions with as much simplicity as possible. He did _not_ like this project. End of story.

"Very well, I'll start with my name, Sasuke Uchiha. You knew that already though. I will be seventeen on July 23. I live with my mom, my dad and my brother Itachi. I am full Japanese, and I come from an old Japanese family. I would also like to go to Japan if I could pick one place because I would like to learn about my heritage and learn a little more about the family background. I also hate sweets, and I do not like ramen noodles very much." At that Naruto's face dropped, and he was about to say something when Sasuke gave him a dirty look almost threatening him to say something. "My favorite food is onigiri. I love the snow and winter, but I don't have a favorite holiday. Holidays are mere excuses for my family to throw their stupid parties, which I hate. My favorite color is navy blue, if you haven't noticed, and if you haven't, you really are the idiot I claim you to be. I would like a snake, but my mom won't let me get one. My favorite subjects would have to be English and art. (A/N Sasuke seems a little OCness. Sorry, I'm trying.) See? This isn't that hard." Sasuke was rambling, and he knew it. It was not normal for Sasuke to ramble; it was not even normal for Sasuke to say more than two sentences. He let it slide though. He made Naruto tell him about himself, so Sasuke had to do the same. A small smirk settled on his lips when Naruto stuck his tongue childishly out at him. This gave Sasuke the perfect opportunity to say one of his favorite sentences, "Dobe."

Naruto was itching to ask Sasuke some questions that were bothering him for sometime, and he thought it was the perfect time to ask. "So Sasuke, I have a few questions for you. 1) Why are you such a bastard and so cold to everyone? 2) Why do you call me a dobe? 3) Why do you take everything for granted? You're selfish!" Naruto was getting angry, and he really had no reason to be. The anger from earlier was resurfacing and at the perfect time. The project was going fairly too. They had not tried to kill each other within the first five minutes, and now there was a rather pissed off Naruto and a rather pissed off Sasuke.

"Well, _Dobe,_" The word slithered and dripped with venom, "I have some questions for you too. Why are you so loud and obnoxious? Why do you try to be people's friend when they obviously don't want to? Why _are you_ such a _Dobe_?"

" I am _not_ a dobe." Naruto gritted his teeth. The two boys were acting childish.

"Of course you are, Dobe." Sasuke's anger had slightly disappeared and amusement appeared in its place. That was obvious when Sasuke smirked at Naruto showing how much of a joke this was to him. Yet this was no joke to Naruto.

He was serious about his questions, and he wanted some answers. Naruto did not like being taken lightly. He was dead serious and, oh, that smirk! How many times did he have to mention how much he HATED that smirk? It gave Naruto the feeling that Sasuke thought he was better than him. "You think you're better than me, don't you? Well, you must really want a matching bruise on the other side of your jaw because you're not better than me! You're just the same as me." Naruto was nearly in hysterics as he screamed at Sasuke.

Sasuke was taken aback by the raw emotions leaking out of Naruto's eyes. "You're such a dobe," Sasuke said sighing and feeling that this fight was not going in a good direction, but he was an Uchiha, he was not going to let some dobe badmouth him. "Naruto, answer my questions! Why are you so obnoxious? Why are you desperately trying to make friends with people who don't like you? Isn't that something that sticks out and says DOBE! I mean, they don't fucking like you! Leave them alone!" Sasuke went a little too far on his rant. Naruto was not even looking him in the eyes any more. Each syllable of every word that slithered out of Sasuke's mouth pierced through the air and sank deep within the depths of Naruto's heart tearing it to pieces leaving bloody shards of nothingness. The worst part was that Naruto started to believe every insult that he received. He even started to believe that what his father had said about him earlier were true. Maybe they were true. Maybe he was in denial. Just maybe he was worthless. Naruto's feet had become an interesting sight as he blinked rapidly forcing the tears to go back where they came from. He was not going to let Sasuke see him cry. He could not let Sasuke see that he was weak, that he was vulnerable, that he could cry and he could feel.

Sasuke jut stared at Naruto thinking, _/Fuck, I went too far! What'll I do? I didn't mean what I said/ _Sasuke's conscience came out. **_/Well maybe you should tell him that and think before you go into rants like that. I think you made him cry/ _**He almost snorted upon hearing his conscience mention that he may have made Naruto cry. _/Naruto cry, that's a funny one./ _Sasuke really did know nothing about this boy in front of him. Was Sasuke really the dobe? How could anyone ever stay that happy? Maybe he was just oblivious.

"I think I should go," Naruto said in a whispered tone. At that moment, he did not care that he had no clue how to get home. Naruto stood to move, and Sasuke saw a glitter of an unshed tear.

_/Oh shit, I think I did make him cry/_ Sasuke was almost panicking. He really did not mean to hurt the boy! Sasuke looked stoic and uncaring, but just like Naruto he did care and feel. He was unsure if he could take the guilt that was building up inside of him even if he did not like the boy. Even if Naruto was the one who started it. _/Wait! Naruto was the one who started it! Why should I feel bad/_ Another thought crossed his mind, a thought that surprised Sasuke. His thought compared Naruto to himself. /_But haven't I done that with aniki? Haven't I randomly started fights with him or pestered him just to get his attention/ _When Sasuke came to realization, little neon lights started flashing brightly and signs lit up his mind. It looked like a fucking Christmas parade. _/Was Naruto doing that same thing that I do when I feel lonely? Was he just longing for some sort of attention/ S_asuke was too engrossed in his thoughts to register what Naruto had said, but Naruto did not follow out his actions either. He really did not feel like getting lost and ending up in God knows where. Anyway, Sasuke's house was so big Naruto did not even know his way back to the front door.

The silence was nerve racking, and every single thought Naruto kept locked inside an iron cage with several chains wrapped around it tightly came exploding through. Thoughts of the past couple days, and the scene from a couple moments ago kept replaying like an old movie. Everything was overwhelming. Naruto felt his knees starting to shake; actually, his whole body began to shake as he tried to keep the tears at bay. At first, the tears slowly rolled down his slightly tanned cheeks and over whisker like scars until the few tears turned into sobs. Sasuke was oblivious to Naruto's weeping because the silent, stubborn tears that forced their way out were almost undetectable. Yet, the other reason was that Sasuke was locked deep within his thoughts. The epiphany was nearly too great.

Naruto tried to hide the fact that he was crying, more like sobbing, by turning away from Sasuke with his back to him. The slight movement was a reminder that Sasuke was not alone in the room, and the boy that was plaguing his mind right then was standing away from him. Finally, it clicked in Sasuke's mind that Naruto was crying. A small hiccup escaped Naruto's lips and gave the boy away. Sasuke was sitting on the computer chair, and Naruto was standing about ten feet away from him, back turned, hands in front of his face, knees wobbling as if they might give out suddenly.

"Naruto?" Sasuke questioned. He did not realize that he had started walking until he was next to Naruto. "Naruto? What's the matter?" he asked trying to get the boy's attention. Naruto looked up at Sasuke. His usually bright blue eyes were glossy with wetness but oh so darkened. For some unknown reason it made Sasuke's heart wrench. 

"It... it's... n... othing," Naruto stuttered from a sob that was caught in his throat.

"Well it has to be something if you're crying," Sasuke stated softly and soothingly.

"Why do you care? I'm just a dobe anyway."

Sasuke winced at the venom shot out at him. That was what was bothering him. Well that was what Sasuke thought at least. "You may be a dobe, but you're still my friend." _/What the FUCK am I saying? I hate him! I always have/_ Once again Naruto looked up at Sasuke with puffy red eyes and a tear rolling down his cheek. _/Okay, maybe I don't hate him, but I do really hate to see him like this. He's NEVER like this. I've actually never seen him cry before. Where's that boy that I always see at school/_ The thoughts from before came rushing back into his mind. /_Could this really be the real Naruto? Was the boy he saw everyday at school just some act for attention? Was Naruto just like him, just like everyone else? Fuck this is just too much/_ Sasuke just wanted to cradle his head in his arms as he felt a migraine coming. This was too much information…too much thinking for one day.

"Since when in the world have you considered me a friend? Do you consider me your friend when you're punching or kicking me? When you start fights with me? Do you consider me you're friend every time you insult me? Did you consider me you're friend when you just stated how you really felt about me? That I'm just an obnoxious dobe? Tell me, Sasuke, did it ever cross your mind that I have feelings? That I'm not always happy?" Naruto did not let Sasuke comment when he stated in a softer voice than the venom he just spat, "No, I didn't think so." With that said, Naruto sat on the bed next to him. He felt weak, he felt disgusting and he felt unworthy.

Sasuke stared at Naruto with wide eyes; the scary thing was that Naruto was right. He never really considered him a friend before. He never thought he felt anything besides happiness. "Naruto?" Sasuke asked in a whisper.

"What?" Naruto spat. He was not in the mood for a pity party. "If you're just going to pity me, I don't want to hear it."

"Naruto… I… um…" Then Sasuke did something that he thought he would never do, something he had not done in a long some, something that surprised them. Sasuke took Naruto into his arms and hugged him tightly. Sasuke could smell the boy's shampoo on the soft golden locks that seemed to fly out everywhere. Sasuke's heart seemed to flutter at the action, but he just ignored that for now.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke with widened blue eyes. He did not understand why Sasuke was doing this. Why was he hugging him? _/What the hell is going on? Why is Sasuke acting so nice to me? Wasn't he just yelling at me ten minutes ago? Oh, fuck it! I don't care right now/ _ Naruto started crying into Sasuke's chest. His bruised eye stung with every tear. Sasuke subconsciously rubbed Naruto's back until the boy calmed down. "Now Naruto, can you tell me what's wrong?" Sasuke asked in a very caring, calm tone.

Naruto ignored the question and instead asked his own, "Sasuke, why are you being so nice to me? I thought you hated me." Naruto had finally calmed down and was a bit drowsy now.

Sasuke wanted to answer the question, but he had to figure it out for himself. He had always thought he hated the blond, but here he was holding him in his arms and comforting him. Sasuke took a moment to answer the question. "I think maybe it's because the obnoxious boy I know at school isn't sitting in front of me. I think I am understanding you much better than I did before. I think you're hurting just as much as I am."

When Sasuke said that, Naruto did not understand what he meant. Sasuke had everything: he was rich, smart, cute and everyone liked him. What was there to be sad about? "Sasuke, I don't understand. How can you be sad? You have everything. You're rich, smart, the girls – even some guys – think you're attractive and everyone likes you. What's there to be sad about?" Naruto was still held in Sasuke's arms. He didn't know why he felt so safe in them. Naruto felt weak, but he ignored it, just as long as he felt safe.

"Naruto, do you know if any one of those people know the real me? Most of them are after my money, or they just think I'm kawaii and want to get in my pants. They are all greedy bastards who care about reputation, looks and money. I can't stand them. To answer your question from before, I don't take things for granted, I don't even know where you got that impression. I only act cold to the people around me because I know what those people are really like. Not one of them really wants to be my friend. Not one." Sasuke looked down at the blond in his arms and hugged the boy tighter to himself. He felt complete with that boy in his arms. He felt as if a part of his soul that was missing was replaced. With his right hand, he ruffled the sunny spikes. _/Is this what love is? Am I falling in love? Am I falling in love with the boy that I hated/_ Sasuke pushed his thoughts aside when a little voice spoke. The voice had brought Sasuke back to the present, and the words floated and fluttered in his ears. The words shocked Sasuke, but then a soft smile flittered across his face, the first real smile he had had since he was eight.

The soft voice caused Sasuke to smile. It said, "Oh, but Sasuke, you're wrong. I've always wanted to be your friend."

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TBC  
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(A/N) I thought this was a relatively cute chapter. The only thing I don't like about it is that it seems rushed to me. I've always had the problem of rushing my works. So, you guys think I should still continue with the story? I know that the first chapter really wasn't the best, but I always find the first chapter isn't always interesting, rather more informative. I think I'm doing a pretty good job. I'm kind of proud of myself. Anyway, so what do you think? Yea or nay? And for the six people who commented me, thank you very, very much. I really appreciated it. I thought you would like to know you made someone's day.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Just like I said before… I do not own Naruto and company, I do not own the world and I do not own a monkey… even though a monkey would be nice :3

"Oh, Sasuke, you're wrong. I've always wanted to be your friend." That soft voice that had made him smile replayed in his mind for the umpteenth time in the span of about ten minutes. The words undulated in his ears and intoxicated… permeated his thoughts. A deafening silence filled the room since those words were said making the blond sitting in his arms begin to squirm in discomfort.

"Sasuke, I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Forget it." Naruto tried to remove himself from the strong arms that restrained him, but failed. Sasuke held Naruto firmly in his vice-like grip.

"What do you mean by 'sorry'?" Sasuke questioned, confused by the blond's words.

Naruto looked into his eyes that gave him away for a mere second until he regained his normal 'I- don't- give- two-shits' expression. Naruto knew too well that it was a clever façade, for he wore his own everyday. But the mask was breaking as Naruto saw his eyes change from cold to… dare he say caring?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you… um… uncomfortable?" Naruto guessed, not sure why he was apologizing.

Sasuke ruffled Naruto's hair. "Dobe, don't be sorry. I should be thanking you." Sasuke was fond of that nickname it seemed, not that he would admit it.

"Thanking me?" It was Naruto's turn to be confused. "You're thanking me?" His cerulean eyes started to water again. /_That is the first time anyone has ever thanked me. I don't understand, but I don't want this feeling to end./_

"Do I have to spell it out for you, dobe? Thank you." No smile reached his lips, but in his eyes, those deep dark pools of black, there was pure happiness. With a blink of his eyes, it was gone just as quickly as it came.

"I don't understand though. _Why_ are you thanking me?" Naruto was still confused, and he did not hide the fact. His eyebrows furrowed while his lips formed a pout. It was irresistibly cute.

"You really are a dobe," he slightly chuckled. "I'm thanking you because you are the first person who truly wants to be my friend." Sasuke would have continued and Naruto most likely would have responded, but the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed. It was singing the time in a happy melody. One chime, then six others sounded. It was seven o'clock!

"Shit! I'm late for dinner!" Naruto quickly made his way out of Sasuke's embrace grabbing his stuff along the way. He turned at the door toward Sasuke rubbing the back of his head, a nervous tick. Naruto mumbled, "Sasuke, I don't know my way home."

Sasuke sighed, "Where do you live? I'll walk you." Sasuke grabbed his navy blue hoodie from its resting place on his computer chair.

Naruto was about to reply with his address when a brilliant idea formulated in his head. Well, brilliant in the eyes of Naruto. "Sasuke, just walk me to the bus stop. I can get home from there." Naruto patted himself on the back for coming up with such a great idea. _/Now Uchiha doesn't have to see my house! Well, not yet./_

"Are you coming or not?" Sasuke smirked in his old demeanor.

"Hai," Naruto stumbled around gathering what was left of his books. After tripping over his feet and being clumsy old Naruto, they came to that magnificent yard again. "Sasuke?"

"Hn?" was the ever so famous Uchiha response. It could be taken in two different ways. One being _'what?'_ and the second being _'what the hell do you want? Get the fuck away from me before I murder you in the worst way possible!'_ It was hard to tell the difference so Naruto stuck with the smarter option.

"Uh, never mind." Naruto stared at his feet. He had been doing that a lot lately.

They walked quietly for quite some time until the bus stop was in sight. Sasuke looked at Naruto with a strange look, slightly agitated by the blond's response. "What is it, Naruto?"

Naruto put his hands in his pockets. "Um, Sasuke, I don't have any money for the bus." Naruto still stared at his feet embarrassed. This was actually not what he was going to say, but never mind that.

"Is that all?" Sasuke looked at Naruto suspiciously as he pulled out the coins for the bus fare. "Here."

"Yeah, that's all. Thanks, I'll pay you back tomorrow." With that said, they arrived at the bus station. Luckily, the bus to Naruto's side of town arrived quickly and Naruto stepped inside and paid his fare. He turned around and saw Sasuke staring at him. "Thanks again, I'll see you tomorrow." Sasuke did not have a chance to respond as the doors shut, and Naruto turned around and started walking down the aisle looking for an open seat.

Sasuke watched the bus leave until it turned a corner, lost to view. He sighed, "Dobe, there is so much that I thought I knew about you, but you're just a mystery to me now." He finally left the station to walk the 15 minute distance back to his house. He crossed the yard and entered his house to proceed straight to his room. Not in the mood to eat, he ignored his growling stomach.

Sasuke fell onto his comforter. The softness engulfed him. The events from that day swam around his mind. "What a day!" Sasuke was exhausted from the drama. "Who would have thought that the hyperactive dobe could be so depressing?" He ran his hand through his silky raven hair. "I've never really hated the boy. He just annoyed me." Sasuke voiced his feelings trying to sort this torrent of thoughts. "I only fought with him because he annoyed me so much. He's always so hyperactive; it's sickly. How could anyone be _that_ bubbly?" His mouth drooped into a slight frown. "Maybe he wasn't as happy as I thought. I never thought I would see the day when Uzumaki Naruto cried." For the billionth time that day Sasuke sighed. It couldn't be healthy to sigh that much.

_/I don't love him/_ Sasuke tried to convince himself. The thought from earlier pervaded his mind. _/This is not what love feels like. I'm not in love with Naruto./_ For the moment Sasuke believed it, or maybe it was because the comforter surrounded him with a softness that lulled him into a restless sleep.

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At the Uzumaki resident

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Naruto walked into his house slipping off his shoes and throwing his book bag to the side. He yawned and looked up to see that the hands on the clock read 8:37. "Crap, hopefully Mom and Dad didn't notice I was gone," he prayed to himself silently.

As if someone read Naruto's thoughts, his father yelled from the kitchen, "Naruto? Is that you?" Naruto had two options: ignore him, run to his room and lock the door, or answer his father. He went for option two, which gave him a better chance at surviving. If he went with option one and was caught in the action… He shuddered at the thought.

"Yea, it's me," Naruto called back wishing silently to himself that his dad would be piss-ass drunk, too drunk to hurt him.

Once again, it was as if some higher power really hated him. His father walked out of the kitchen into the small living room where Naruto was standing. His father was sober… well, more so than usual. He either had not hit the booze yet or they were out. "Where were you, ya little shit?" his father slurred slightly. Hey, I said he was more sober than _usual_.

"Um, well, I was at a friend's house doing a project," Naruto bit at the inside of his cheek as he rubbed the back of his head. He did not look his father straight in the eyes, scared that if he did it would set off a bomb. He wished that was the right answer. If he had lied to his father and was caught… once again he shuddered.

His father drew closer to Naruto, "You know perfectly well that you have to be home by 5:30 unless you have work or permission, you dirty scum." His father's hand drew back ready to strike him. Naruto knew he had the chance to run, but the pain would be all the worse when he came back so he stood still waiting for the plow to hit. It never came. Naruto opened his eyes to see his father with his hand raised waiting for something. Once his father saw those blue eyes on him it came. It came so quickly that Naruto did not have the chance to close his eyes. He could feel the hotness and pain down to the bone and he thought he saw stars in his vision. The bruise that was undoubtedly there was instantaneous.

"I… I'm s.. sorry," Naruto stuttered, willing the tears back. He should be used to the pain. He should not cry. It must have been the drama from earlier that had made the tears want to break through the surface and flow freely. He wasn't crying because it hurt. It could not be. He was not weak. Uzumaki Naruto was _anything_ but weak. But why did he feel so weak?

"Shut up! I won't accept any apologies from you." Another hit, harder than before stung his cheek. He definitely saw stars this time as the words sliced through the thick tension stabbing him all the harder.

Hit after hit, punch after punch and kick after kick Naruto endured until he was left curled on the ground in a fetal position too dazed to do anything but softly whimper. It was just one of those days in which he felt he wanted to shrivel up and die. Maybe if he tried hard enough it would happen… Maybe? As he laid there, the day passed through his mind. He really was weak. He had broken down in front of the wealthiest kid in school. He broke down in front of his rival, the most popular kid in school. He was stupid, but Sasuke did not make fun of him. He even comforted him. _/This is all some sort of trick, isn't it? Sasuke doesn't really care. He just has blackmail on me now. He can tell the whole school how fucked up Uzumaki Naruto is. He can tell everyone and their mother that Naruto can be a little sissy and cry. Great… what a fucking day/_

Naruto felt a wetness sting his cheek. Gingerly, he wiped away the wetness, but it was not blood, as he had thought. He was… crying? Naruto felt a fresh new batch of tears sting his wounded cheek. Yup, he was crying, but he had not known when it started. Naruto knew he was not crying while his father was around, or he would still be getting beat. Naruto sighed and hugged his knees closer to his battered chest. "I should get up," he mumbled.

A few minutes went by, and slowly Naruto got up and headed towards the stairs. With every step, a new tear fell from his face. Kami! Did it hurt! Every move sent a wave of pain throughout his body like a kunai slicing through his skin. Despite the pain, Naruto made his way slowly into his room. His bed felt like a haven. The comfort surrounding him, but the pain denying him the sleep he needed. Naruto winced as the initial pain gave rise to invisible pins and needles tingling throughout his body.

Surprisingly to Naruto, his thoughts kept returning to a raven haired boy he had seen earlier that day. "Today was so abnormal," he whispered to himself, his voice soft but strained. "I meant what I said. I have always wanted to be Sasuke's friend, but somehow it always ended up in a fight. I never hated him. I guess my façade was even fooling myself." With that said, the softness around him began to overpower and he drifted off into a restless sleep.

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The next day

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Naruto turned in bed sending a sharp pain up his side. His eyes darted open, but all he could see were white spots floating before him. Soon his eyes focused and the neon red numbers from his alarm clock shone brightly. It was 5:30. Now that he was up, it would be impossible to sleep again. Naruto gingerly got out of bed, the pain dying down as he got used to the jolts running up and down his spine.

Naruto entered the bathroom to prepare to take a shower. He turned around to look in the mirror. Bruises covered his body and three cut marks adorned each cheek. He looked even more the monster than he was. Dried blood was caked to his skin. He was a complete train wreck. How was he going to cover these bruises and marks?

He turned the water on and stripped out of his clothes from yesterday. There was blood splatter on them. When the water was finally warm enough, Naruto stepped into the shower and let the hot water embrace his body. He hissed as the water came in contact with still tender areas. He grabbed a washcloth and lathered it with soap to scrub at the caked blood. Naruto was sore all over, but he would never show it to anyone. Once he was clean and dry, he put on some relatively clean clothes. Today was going to be a bitch. He knew it already.

Naruto walked into the bathroom again and stared at his self in the mirror. Without the dried blood on his skin, Naruto could see bright and clearly the bruises that had formed. Going through the bathroom cabinet, he found his mom's makeup. _/She will kill me if she finds out/_ Naruto thought to himself as he pulled a liquid concealer out of the cabinet. He was satisfied at his work. Not a bruise could be seen.

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Hell… I mean school

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For the second time that school year, Naruto was not late for school. The truth was that he was early. Yesterday he was on time, and today he was early. What was this world coming to? Was the apocalypse coming? No, maybe it was not that extreme, but Naruto being early was a sight thought impossible.

Naruto walked the halls until he reached his first period class. School would start in about half an hour. He had taken the bus for kids in the band and choir who had to be in school early. When he stepped onto the bus, the driver almost had a heart attack. Anyway, as I was saying, Naruto reached his first period class knowing Iruka would be there. He opened the door to see the sight of... singing flowers, a rabbit running and yelling "I'm late! I'm late!" There was a pinkish-purple striped cat that started to talk then disappeared from view. What was this though? The cat was still talking, but where was it? It was invisible… well, that was what he wished he saw. He would have been much more accepting of Wonderland than this. He walked in on his favorite teacher, Mr. Umino, making out with his math teacher, Mr. Hatake.

The only thing that Naruto could do was stare. His voice was lost, but when his reflexes took control again, he dropped his book bag and choked out a "what the FUCK!" Naruto was scared for life/_What in the world is going on here? Didn't I tell you this was going to be an awful day? Didn't I/ _

A blushing Iruka pushed back from Mr. Hatake and stared at Naruto. "Naruto, it's not what it looks like. I…" Iruka trailed off and Mr. Hatake looked bored. That was nothing new. Mr. Hatake was a weird fellow. He wore a turtle neck everyday, which is in itself not weird, but he often covered his face up to the nose like children tend to do. Now that _is_ weird. Also, his hair was a shade of platinum even though he was only about twenty- five. It was a chaotic styling of spikes. If they were flattened, would have drooped down to the middle of his neck. In the front of his face there was a bit of hair that was kept in front of his left eye.

Naruto was still frozen in shock. Mr. Hatake snaked his hands around Iruka's waist and said, "What do you mean, my little dolphin? It's exactly what it looks like." Mr. Hatake smiled… well, almost. His right eye lazily shifted into an upside down crescent moon, which gave his face the impression of a smile.

"Kakashi!" Iruka exclaimed. Kakashi's smile widened and he hugged his 'dolphin' closer to him. "Kakashi…" the word had a warning undertone. Kakashi removed his arms from Iruka's waist and backed up.

Naruto was sickly pale. "Mr. Hatake, is this why you're always late for class?" His voice was barely audible. "Look, I'll just go. Nothing happened here." He really wished he could have talked to Iruka this morning, but that was out of the question now. Naruto stooped to pick up his book bag causing his black shirt to ride up a little. Iruka caught sight of a huge bruise running across his back. His and Kakashi's eyes met and they made a silent agreement.

"Well, I need to start grading some papers." Kakashi left the room in one swift fluid movement.

Naruto looked outside the door confused by Kakashi's exit. Naruto turned to Iruka ready to say something, but was cut off. "Naruto, come here." Naruto complied and carefully walked over to Iruka who gestured for him to sit. "Naruto, tell me why you are here. Did you need to discuss something with me?"

Naruto looked away from Iruka and shook his head. "Are you positive, Naruto? Anything you tell me will be held with the utmost confidence." Iruka's brows were furrowed in concern.

" Mr. Umino, it's nothing. I just wanted to ask you," here Naruto paused to think of an excuse, "why did you pair me with Sasuke?"

"You were paired with Uchiha because your bickering put me at my sanity's end. I concluded that if you were forced to cooperate on this assignment, your time quarreling will be inversely affected by your time spent together. Is it that you and Sasuke fought?"

Naruto shook his head, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei, but I have to get to homeroom. See you in a little bit. Naruto left the classroom as the homeroom bell rang. Naruto entered finding he was the first one to arrive besides the homeroom teacher. The teacher coughed and nodded in Naruto's direction. "Morning, Mr. Hayate."

Naruto shuffled to the back of the room next to the very last window seat. Upon sitting, his mind drifted to the world outside the window. He snapped out of his reverie when the two chairs beside him scratched against the tile floor. Naruto turned his attention to his two friends sitting beside him. "Morning!" Naruto said with as much gusto as he could muster. His false face was solidly in place.

Kiba and Shikamaru had been Naruto's friends for a very long time. They knew there was something the matter with Naruto. Kiba asked Naruto what was troubling him, because as concerned as he was, Shika was just too lazy to ask.

This caught Naruto off balance. "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong. I don't know why you would think that," Naruto chuckled nervously. _/How could they see through my mask/_ Naruto was worried. Too many people had been reading through him like a transparency. He must correct that immediately.

"Naruto, we know there is something wrong. We have been your friends for a while. We can tell when something is bothering you, so spill!" Kiba was starting to get annoyed with Naruto. "Something has been bothering you for the past few days."

"Really, I'm fine. Why does everyone think there is something wrong! It's just been a bad week." Naruto's eyes pleaded for them to believe him. It was the truth. This week was not his week.

"Are you sure, Naruto? You can talk to us, you know? That's what friends are for." _/Friends, they really consider me a friend. They really care./_ Naruto smiled.

"Yea, I'm sure. Thanks." He really meant it. He was so happy that they considered him their friend. Naruto had thought they just tolerated him. Sasuke walked into the homeroom class and looked around. He spotted the blond sitting with his friends.

_/Good, the dobe got home all right/ _ Sasuke thought. He walked over to his seat in front of Naruto. "So, I see you didn't manage to kill yourself on the way home," he stated bluntly. Nothing had changed between the two since the day before. Naruto gave Sasuke a dirty look and stuck his hand out towards Sasuke. Sasuke stared at the hand for a long moment. "What's this?" Sasuke leaned a little closer and saw something metallic in Naruto's hand. Naruto opened his hand revealing some change.

"Here, this is for the bus yesterday." Naruto placed the change on Sasuke's desk and turned away. _/Sasuke doesn't care. He's just waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell the whole school that I'm a little sissy. He doesn't care./_ He ignored the nagging notion in the back of his head telling him to think logically. Finally, Naruto gave in to the voice to save himself a headache. _/Sasuke is not the type to spread rumors. He barely speaks three words to anyone unless a teachers calls on him or he has a snide remark. Be logical for once!_/ The voice finally died down and Naruto looked at the people staring at him. "What?" Naruto questioned.

"Dobe, when people are talking to you maybe you shouldn't ignore them. People may think you're even more retarded than you are."

"TEME!" Naruto screamed at Sasuke but decided that fighting now would be useless. Sasuke could blackmail him with yesterday's events if he did. "So, what did you say?" Naruto questioned the group, not sure who had spoken.

"Are you all right, Naruto?" Kiba asked for the third or fourth time that day. "You spaced out and had a funny look on your face."

Naruto smiled at Kiba and nodded his head, "Of course I'm all right, I was just thinking."

"I thought I smelled something burning." Sasuke smirked and looked at Naruto. _/Yup, he really doesn't like me./_ Naruto's smile faltered for only a moment, a moment that Sasuke noticed. "Dobe, when can we meet again?"

"Today if we must, I have off from work." Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he had three heads.

"You, mindless Naruto, have a job? Where do you work, the circus?" Naruto frowned and let his happy façade fall away.

"I work at a bookshop," Naruto responded.

"You can read?" Sasuke mockingly questioned.

"Haha, very funny. Yes, I can read. How else would I be able to write and do our project, or is that too much of a surprise for the ice princess?" Naruto smiled at his comeback. Serves Sasuke right.

Sasuke glared at Naruto with one of his famous Uchiha glares. The glare could turn the Sahara into Antarctica. Nope, nothing changed at all. Naruto smiled and decided this was a good thing. /_Good, he's acting like nothing happened at all. Nothing is abnormal./_

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke sighed.

"What did you just call me!" Naruto jumped into a fighting stance even though his whole body yelped in pain.

"You heard me, Usuratonkachi." Sasuke's smirk crept back.

"Why you little bastard…" Naruto was ready to lunge at Sasuke when the pain in his side became too much. Naruto stood up straight and willed the tears back hoping that no one noticed his display. He was wrong though. Sasuke noticed the entire episode. _/I wonder what's the matter with him./_ Sasuke quizzically glanced at Naruto though Naruto chose to ignore it. Ignorance is bliss, right?

The bell signaling first period rang, and Naruto dashed out of the room to avoid the strange looks he received from his friends… and Sasuke. He was the first one to reach his English class.

A few classes later, the lunch bell rang. Naruto leapt from his seat. "Yay! Lunch time!" Naruto grabbed his bag and bounced off to lunch with Kiba and Shikamaru trailing. Naruto's class schedule was English followed by Math, Gym and Art. That meant that immediately after English, he had to endure Math. This was a double dose of awkwardness after the incident with those same teachers that morning. He could hardly look at them without images of them making out creeping into his head. Naruto was actually a little jealous. He wanted someone who could look at him that way. Someone who could make him feel special… Someone who could make him feel loved. He wanted it so badly that his heart clenched and he had to try his utmost to hold back stinging tears. It hurt immensely. When Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, he found himself facing his locker. He turned the dial on his locker, but when he tried the latch it did not open. "Damn locker!" Naruto kicked the door and it reluctantly opened. Naruto grinned and looked back to see that Kiba and Shikamaru were still behind him. Naruto looked back at his locker and got the books he needed. Then they walked down to the lunch room. They sat in the usual secluded spot. Naruto sat with his arms folded on the table to cradle his head on them. He was tired, deprived of a restful sleep last night. Kiba and Shika made their way to the lunch line leaving Naruto with some alone time to contemplate.

"Man, my body hurts like a bitch," Naruto mumbled to himself. He yawned until his jaw popped then turned toward the sea of white tables and hungry teens. His gaze fixed on one particular table where a certain raven haired boy sat with two girls hanging all over him. One of the girls was a bleach-blonde and the other had pink-dyed haired. He looked soooooo happy to have them cooing over him like some precious jewel. _/He is cute… Wait! Did I just think that Sasuke bastard was cute!_/ _/Yes you did, Naruto-kun/ _ his conscience replied. The little bastard had little neon red and pink hearts hovering around him. Naruto chased off his conscience only to lock eyes with Sasuke. He tried to play it off as if he had not, but Sasuke's eyes smiled at him despite his cold stoic face. Usually those eyes were dark and empty, just another extension of his cold exterior, but it seemed that whenever the blond was around, those eyes betrayed him to reveal his true emotions.

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Sasuke's POV

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"Sasuke-kun!" the pink haired girl screeched and latched onto his arm. Right next to her a blonde latched onto his other arm.

"Big Forehead, you stay away from my Sasuke-kun," the blonde girl said then stuck her tongue out at the other girl.

"Ino-pig, he is not _your_ Sasuke-kun, he's _my_ Sasuke-kun." The girls glared at each other as they made childish faces and said childish things. Sasuke tried to look anywhere but at the girls. In their strange universe, if he acknowledged one of them or said anything, he was passionately in love with them. No, in their strange universe he _WAS_ in love with them. He was just shy. Heh, the great Uchiha shy. That would be the day.

"Sasuke-kun, will you go on a date with me?" the pink-haired girl named Sakura asked as she had every time she saw him. _/How many times do I have to tell them that I am not interested/_

He sighed and looked at Sakura trying to look as bored as possible. "No," was the only response he gave. Sasuke's eyes scanned the lunchroom and his eyes caught sight of that blond, the one not latched to his arm like a barnacle. Sasuke wished he could smile, but the twitching of his lips would not allow him. Maybe it was his pride that stopped him. All he could manage to do was let his eyes take over where his mouth had failed.

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Naruto's POV

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Ten minutes elapsed. The entire time there, they stared at each other. Sakura and Ino talked in Sasuke's ears, but he took no notice.

A hand waved in front of his eyes. "Anyone in there?" Kiba questioned as Naruto jolted back to reality.

"Yea, I'm here. What do you need?" Naruto asked grumpily. For some reason he just wanted to stare into those eyes forever. What in the world was he thinking! He sat up sliding his hand across his cheek and onto his lap.

Kiba stared at Naruto wide eyed and nudged Shika. "Na.. Naruto? What the hell happened? You're bleeding!"

Naruto gave Kiba a weird look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're bleeding!" He grabbed Naruto by the arm and dragged him to the restroom. Naruto was then spun in the direction of the mirror, and Kiba pointed to his cheek. On his left cheek three cuts were visible. They were bruised and discolored. "What in the world happened Naruto? I need answers!" Shikamaru just walked into the bathroom as Kiba asked Naruto again about what had happened. Kiba looked ready to explode and his face was red as a ripe tomato.

It was Shika's turn to speak. "Naruto, We're not stupid. Answer us truthfully… and don't you dare say it was nothing." He still looked bored as ever, but the warning tone in his voice revealed how seriously he took the situation.

Naruto sighed and turned away from them. "Do you promise not to tell?" Both boys nodded their heads and swore not to tell. "Well, it all started yesterday. I lost track of time at Sasuke's house. We were working on the project when I heard the clock chime 7:00. I was supposed to be home at 5:30. Well, I got home at eight something, and my father wasn't happy. He was a little drunk also." Kiba and Shika looked at each other in disbelief. They knew what the blond was going to say once he mentioned that his father was drunk. "My father hit me."

"Naruto?" Naruto turned towards the door in shock to see a raven haired boy with matching dark eyes staring at him.

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TBC

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